Traffic guard



Aug. l, 1939.

E. v'. cAMP TRAFFIC GUARD INVENToR A2 v n Filed March 12, 1935 Patented Aug. l, 1939 UNITED STATES.

-Parr-:rrr ortica .This invention relates to a new and improved road guard rail for positioning along dangerous stretches of highway, curves, bridge-heads, bridges, and the like, for the purpose of absorbing the shock of impact of a vehicle that has left the road and run into said guard, said barrier tending to glide the vehicle along the face of the guardl and return the vehicle to the highway,

, without material damage to either the vehicle or rail. Specically, the instant invention is concerned with a highway guard rail embodying a` new and improved connector element or member interposed between the rail panel,proper and its supports.

Modern sheet metal, plate type, guard rails, the

majority of which are constructed upon the basic principle taught by my Patent No. 1,793,673, February 24, 1931; and which consist in their fundamental conception of a stripx of sheet metal extending longitudinally and wholly to one side of a series of supports, plus means for maintaining said band under longitudinal tension, have been adopted in practically every state of the Union,

' as well as in numerous foreign countries. High speed motor carsand an ever-growing'systemof super-highways have made such devices very necessary; and rails of this type have been found to be generally satisfactory, acting as they do to receive and partially nullify the impacting force v .of a moving vehicle, which vehicle is glided along blow, as from a truck or heavy bus, yielding the while, however, under "such increased or sus.-

tained pressure. In view of this, certain state specifications require a guard rail that will initially yield one inch under 5000 pounds pressure, yet which will sustain a maximum pressure of more than 15,000 pounds.

'An objectI of this invention is to provide a guard rail that will yield under force of impact, yet which, will set up anincreased resistance to yielding after a certain pressure I has been reached. l

Another object is to provide a guard rail with a spring connector which is in effect, 'double-acting, said connector utilizing one element for ordinary stresses, and .bringing into play a second buierf- 'element in conjunction with said first member for coping with extraordinary impacts.

A still further object is to provide cheapness of construction in a device of the foregoing type. Another object is to provide simplicity and eniciency of operation in such a device.

Another object is to provide a guard rail that 5 will meet certain state specifications.

Broadly stated, the objects of the instant invention are to provide in a highway guard rail, a

buffer within a buffer, said elements acting independently under certain conditions, and combinl0 ing their eilective action under certain other conditionssr'rw These and other objects made apparent through-out the further progress of this specification are accomplished by means of my traffic 15 guard, and more particularly the spring connector or buffer employed therewith,'a full and complete understanding of which is made possible by reference to the drawing herein, in which:`

Fig. 1 is' a fragmentary view, substantially in 20 perspective, of a section of guard rail mounted to a support by means of a connector embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the structure illustrated in Fig. l. 1 25 Fig. 3 is a view in vertical cross-section of the structure illustrated in Fig. 2, said' view being taken along the line III- III thereof.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a section of guard rail embodying my-inven- 30 tion, illustrating a modification in the manner of mounting the metal panel to the connector elements of the composite guard rail structure.

' Fig. 5 isa view in vertical cross-section o f the .structure illustrated in Fig. 4, said view being 35 vture Yotherwise being `the same as illustrated in Support il may be conventional, and yformed of 55 complishing ,the purposes of my invention.

either wood, concrete, or other 'materiaL said support (or post) being properly positioned in the ground, details of construction and erection in regard to which are well known to those skilled in the road building arts.

Special attention is now directed to spring connector I2. This member is preferably formed of spring steel, and may be circular, annular, oval, curved, or any other desired shape suitable for accomplishing the purposes of the instant invention, it being contemplated, however, that the axis of l2 shall be, generally speaking, transverse to panel iii, as shown in the drawing.

Rail I0 may be joined to connector I2 in anyl desired manner, as by means of bolts I3 and I4 and associated nuts I3a and I4a. Disposed within connector I2 and preferably spaced from the front and side walls thereof (Fig. 2), is an inner impact resisting member I5, which element may resemble I2 in general contour, and be of a corresponding heightbut which is of a smaller diameter than said element. In the construction illustrated, I5 is provided with side Wings I5a and I5b, although this `,is not strictly necessary for the purposes of the instant invention, and, as a matter of fact, the element may be in the form of a closed circle, or in any other form capable of ac- It is also to be noted that while in the drawing, element I5 is shown anchored adjacent the post, it may instead be fastened to rail I0 as by means of bolts I3 and I4, when conditions make such an arrangement desirable.

Member I5 may be fabricated of spring steel as is I2, or be of a more rigid construction, the fundamental purpose being to provide a buffer within a yielding outside element of the nature of I2 as described herein, to perform functions contemplated by the objects of this invention as set forth heretofore. i

Fig. '7 illustrates an embodiment of the instantl invention in which buffer element I5c is in the form of a closed circle or conventional cylinder, the structure otherwise being as suggested in Figs. l and 2; and the operation of the device being substantially identical to that described hereafter, except, however, that when the buier is thus formed a somewhat greater resistance to impact may exist, with a corresponding lack of resiliency than when a spring having wings such as I5a and I 5b.is employed.

Elements I5 and I2 may be united to support II in any suitable manner, as byn bolt I6 and nut IGa. If rail I0 is of the'ilexible type now generally employed in the rod guard industry, it is desirable to provide means for imparting tensionv I3 and I4, rail II) is mounted in sliding engagew ment with said connector by'a clip I9, said clip passing around said spring at its front-rear portion, and holding the rail in Vengagement with the front thereof by means of. end portions I9a and I9b, this construction providing a snug and workman-like connection, but at the same time making possible a sliding joint through which the rail may travel when subjected to strain or impact,\ or when compensation is otherwise needed, as in the case of expansion and contraction of the rail due to changes in temperature. Such a structure further simplifies the positioning of tensioning means in the guard rail device, when rail I0 is of the non-rigid type, it only being necessary to place some such means at each end of a series of sections or panels of rail, said springs then imparting tension uniformly through-out the length thereof.

In operation',-my device works as follows: A vehicle striking rail I0 is glided along the face thereof, the force of the impact being partially nulliiied by the rail itself if it is of a flexible nature, and the impact being further taken up and reduced by the cushioning effect of spring I2, said spring acting as a buier between the panel and the post. For the lighter impacts, spring I2 is suiilcient to accomplish the full purpose for which the device is intended', butin the case of a severe impact, particularly at the post itself, further resisting means are necessary, and to fulfill this need, inner impact resisting member I5 is provided. This member acts as a secondary buffer, and upon I2s being compressed as by a blow, to the point where the inner outside surface thereof is brought into contact with I5, a further resistance is set up, the force of the blow now having to overcome two buffers instead of one, and said resistance continuing until both elements are compressed. Y

For illustrative purposes I have herein referred to the impact member of my tramc guard as a metal band or panel, but it is obvious that any suitable means or element, such as cable for example, may be substituted therefor without departing from the spirit and scope of the instant invention.

Thus it will be seen that I have by means of my invention provided what is, in effect,A two guards in one. The iirst furnishes a light, springy, flexible guard to take care of light blows and ordinary impacts, while the second is a heavy duty, super-buffer element capable of withstanding severe pressure, and at the same time yieldably acting to cushion the force of even the most severe` impacts. A-

The action of the device illustrated in Fig. 4 is 'substantially the same, except possibly the spring tensioning means at the ends of the rails may act to take up more of the shock than in the structure illustrated in Fig. l, in which case elements I2 and I5 will not be fully compressed until a somewhat greater pressure has been exerted against the guard than in the case of the rst structure in which a sort of rolling motion may be imparted to the spring connector elements upon an impact, due to the anchoring of the rail to the connector by bolts I3 and I4, it being apparent that in such a construction the springs at the supports are more relied upon to nulli'fy impact than in the sliding-rail device. In either form, however, the spring cushions are highly important, and they are particularly so in a double-acting device such as -disclosed herein, the desirability of such a structure being at once apparent to those skilled in the art.

It is further apparent that my invention is simple and positive in itsaction, economical to manufacture, readily adaptable to a wide range of highway specification requirements, and thoroughly efficient for the purposes intended. As such, itv represents a distinct advance in the industry.

oneness While I have described a preferred form of my invention herein, and suggested certain modiiication thereof, it is obvious that considerable change may be made in the size, form, and structure of said device, and particularly in the shape and arrangement of elements l2 and/or l5, without departing from the scope oi the appended claims, which claims are to be broadly construed.

I claim:

1. A highway guard rail comprising a series of supports, a sheet metal panel disposed longitudinally and entirely to one side thereof, a series of annular spring connectors uniting said panel to said supports, and secondary circular spring elements mounted within said connectors in spaced relationship to the front and sides thereof in such a manner that an initial shock is first absorbed by said connectors before said secondary elements become operative.

2. A highway guard rail comprising a series of metal panels joined end to end and disposed longitudinally of a series of supports, a series oi annular spring connectors disposed .between said panels and said supports, secondary springs within said spring connectors and disposed in spaced relationship to the interior thereof, means V joining said metal panels with said spring connectors, and `means for 'mounting said springs and connectors upon said supports.

3. A highway guard rail comprising a series of metal panels joined end to end and disposed longitudinally of a series of supports, a series of annular spring connectors disposed between said panels and said supports, secondary springs within said spring connectors and disposed in of metal panels joined end to end and disposedv longitudinally of a series of supports, a series of annular spring connectors disposed between said `panels and said supports, secondary springs of metal panels joined endv to end and disposed-l longitudinally of a series oi' supports, a series of annular spring connectors disposed between said panels and said Supports. secondary buier elements disposed within said spring connectors in such a manner that an initial impact is iirst absorbed by said connectors before said secondary elements become operative, means joining said metal panels with said spring connectors, and

means for mounting said springs and connectors disposed within said spring connectors and-in spaced relationship to a portion of vthe inner Walls thereof, means for 'slideably mounting said metal panels upon said spring connectors, and means for supporting-said springs upon said supports.

5. A highway 4guard rail comprising a series oi sheet metal panels joined end to end and disposed longitudinally of a series of supports, a series of annular spring connectors disposed between said panels and supports, secondary springs disposed within said spring connectors and in spaced rela-- tionship to a major `portion of the inner walls thereof, clip means for slideably mounting said panels upon said spring connectors, and means for supporting said' connectors -upon said supports. y

6. A highway guard rail comprising a series of metal panels joined end to end and disposed longitudinally of a series of supports, a series of annular spring connectors disposed between said panels and said supports, secondary buier members disposed within said spring connectors in such a manner that an initial shock is rst absorbed by said connectors before said secondary elements become operative, means for slideably mounting said metal panels upon said spring connectors, and means for supporting said springs and connectors u pon said supports.

'1. A highway guard rail comprising a series upon said supports.

8. A highway guard rail comprising a series of sheet metal panels joined end to end andV disposed longitudinally of a series of supports, a series of curved spring connectors disposed be- 15 tween said panels and supports, secondary buiers disposed within said spring connectors and in spaced relationship to a major portion of the inner walls thereof, clip means for slideably mounting said panels upon said spring connectors, and means ior supporting said connectors upon said supports.

9- A highway guardrail comprising a series of sheet metal panels in end to end relationship disposed longitudinally of a series of supports, a series of vcurved spring connectors disposed between said panels Iand supports, secondary buffers disposed within said spring connectors in such a manner that an initial impact is first absorbed by said connectors before said secondary elements become operative; means for mounting said panels upon said spring connectors, and means for supporting said connectors upon said sup` ports.

i0. A highway guard rail comprising a series of sheet metal panels in end to end relationship disposed longitudinally of 'a sexies of supports, a series of curved spring connectors disposed be-y tween said panels and supports, secondary buffers disposed within said spring vconnectors in such a manner that an'initial impact is iirst absorbed by said connectors before said secondary elements become operative, bolts and nuts uniting said panels with said spring connectors, and a bolt and nut for mounting said connectors upon each respective support.

11. A highway guard rail vcomprising a series of metal panels joined end to end and disposed longitudinally of a series of supports, a series` of annular spring connectors disposed between said panels and said supports, said connectors having their vertical axesl disposed at substantially right angles to said panels; secondary buffer elements disposed'within said spring connectors in spaced relationship to a portion of the interiors thereof, 55

meansjoining said vmetal panels to said spring' lspaced relationship to a portionV of the interiors thereof, means slideably mounting' said metal panels upon said spring connectors, and means for attaching said connectors to said supports in operative position.

13. A highway guard rail comprising a series of metal panels joined end to end and disposed longitudinally of a series of supports, a series of curved spring connectors' disposed between 'Il lsaid panels and said supports, secondary buffer elements within said spring connectors and in spaced relationship to a portion of the inner walls thereof, means for mounting saidpanels upon said connectors, and means .for attaching said cionnectors to said supports in operative posit on.

14. A device of the character described comprisinga support, a strip of metal disposed longitudinally thereto, and spring means for mounting said strip of metal upon v-said support, said means comprising separate cylindrical -springs sopositioned that one oi! said elements yields a predetermined degree under an impact before the other of said elements becomes operative and likewise sets up a spring resistance tending to nullify said impact.

15. A device of the character described comprising a support, a strip of metaldisposed longitudinally thereof, and spring means for mounting said strip of metal upon said support, said means comprising a series of annular springs so positioned that one of said elements yields a predetermined degree under an impact before the next succeeding element in the series becomes operative and likewise sets 'up a spring resistance tending to nulliy said impact.

16. A device of the character described corn-K` prising a series of supports, a sheet of metal disposed longitudinally and entirely to one side thereof, and a multiple buier element disposed between said metal and said supports and uniting one with the other, said buffer having an outer portion calculated to absorb an initial shock, and an inner portion which becomes operative upon said outer portions having absorbed a certain impacting force. v

17. A device oi the character described comprising a series of supports, an impact member disposed longitudinally thereof, and a multiple buffer element disposed between said impact member and said supports and uniting one with the other, said buffer having an outer portion calculated to absorb an initial shock, and an inner portion which becomes operative upon said outer portion's having, absorbed a certain impacting force.

18. A highway guard including a plurality of posts, a metal rail extending past a plurality of said posts, tubular springs at the posts, and other springs at the posts extending beyond the tubular springs and positioning the rail normally out of contact with the tubular springs.

19. A highway guard including a plurality of posts, a rail extending past a plurality of said posts, tubular springs at the posts, other springs at the posts supporting the rail normally outof contact with the tubular springs, the saldlother springs being resistant to light loads and yield able under heavy loads applied lengthwise and transversely of the rail, the tubular springs being resistant to heavy loads applied lengthwise and? transversely of the rail and transmitted to them by the rail. l

20. A- highway guard including a plurality of posts, a rail extending past a plurality of said posts, tubular springs at the posts, other springs at the posts supporting the rail normally out of contact with the tubular springs, the said other springs being resistant to light loads and yieldable under heavy loads applied lengthwise l,and transversely of the rail, the several springs at any post cooperating`to resist heavy loads appliiiled lengthwise as well as transversely of the ra f 21. A-highway guard including a plurality of posts, a rail extending past a plurality of said posts, tubular springs at the posts, other springs at the posts supporting the rail normally out roi contact with the tubular springs, a rail tensioning spring anchored at the ends of said rail and resistant to light loads applied lengthwise of the rail, the several springs cooperating to resist heavy loads applied lengthwise as well as transversely of the rail.

22. A highway guard including a plurality of posts, a railmember extending past a plurality of said posts, anchor means at the ends oi the rail resistant to light loads applied lengthwise of the rail, tubular spring members mounted on the highway side o! said posts. and other spring members normally supporting the rail out oi contact with the tubular springs, the said other springs being resistant to light loads and yieldable under heavy loads.

23. A highway guard including a plurality of posts, a rail member extending past a plurality of said posts, rail supporting spring members mounted on said posts, and tubular spring members mounted on the posts between the rail and the posts and within the rail supporting springs and being normally out of contact with the rail.

24. A highway guard including a plurality of posts, a rail extending past a plurality of said posts..tubular springs at the posts, other springs at the posts supporting the rail normally out of contact with'the tubular springs, the said other springs being resistant to light loads and yieldable under heavy loads applied lengthwise and transverselyof the rail, the tubular springs being resistant to heavy loads applied lengthwise and transversely of the rail, and a rail tensioning vspring positioned at the end of said rail and attached thereto. v

EUGENE V. CAMP. 

